A reader informs us that a whale 23 feet [7m] in length was seen in Tolo Harbour, near Taipo, on Sunday [11th of May 1914], and that the police, from a launch, fired three rounds at the mighty creature, which however disappeared.”

Taken from the Hong Kong Telegraph 13th of May 1914How strange to think that back then the first reaction on seeing a big whale, was to pull out a gun and shoot it!

It struck me as quite interesting, that Tolo Harbor near Taipo was also the site the stranding of a 42-foot (13m) Omura’s whale in March 2014 – almost exactly 100 years later!

Tolo Harbor is almost completely enclosed by land so any whale erring into it is bound to get confused, I think.

As reported by Apple Daily today, a recent bloom of the bioluminescent organism Noctiluca scintillans – often known as “Sea Sparkle” – and a frequent cause of red-tides in Hong Kong (recent posts here, here and here ), has occcured in the sea near Tai Po. The bloom has attracted more and more people hoping to capture the bioluminescence on camera. Some of the images and video have even made international media reports.

But the sudden influx of night-time visitors is causing some aggravation to villagers who are complaining about the noise nuisance. Many people have also been throwing rocks into the sea to agitate the single-celled organisms into sparkling, which is harming the local ecology. While one or two stones thrown hardly make a difference, several hundred rocks hurled into the sea does create some damage. If you are reading this and planning to go and see the blooms, please DO NOT THROW STUFF IN THE SEA, NOT EVEN STONES. If you really want to see the sparkle then wade in to use your hands or a stick to agitate the water – but I don’t advise this either.

Some villagers have now taken to blocking beaches. Up to 100 visitors are coming to the beaches and cars are now blocking lanes causing a major disturbance to village life.

Advice on viewing Noctiluca scintillans in Hong Kong:

1. DO NOT THROW ANYTHING INTO THE SEA. If you want to agitate the bloom use a stick or branch to swirl the water. Or just watch out for waves which will do the same.

2. Respect local villagers. Do not be noisy and obnoxious. Do not block lanes

3. DO NOT LITTER. TAKE ONLY PICTURES AND VIDEO, LEAVE NOTHING BEHIND.

4. Use a tripod and a slow shutter speed and high sensitivity (ISO) for long exposures to capture the full sparkle.5. If you can tame your urge to see the sea sparkle in person please do, it would really help the environment (and the villagers). You can just enjoy the images and videos floating around the internet,for example this (probably copied) video:

According to the SCMP, sewage from the mainland is fuelling an increase of harmful algal blooms – known as red tides – in Hong Kong waters.

Professor Ho Kin-chung, dean of the Open University’s school of science and technology and an expert on algae, told the SCMP the red tides were “fed” by nutrients flowing in from mainland waters to the east and west of Hong Kong.

“The economic boom across the border leads to more sewage discharge into the sea and rivers, and in the right seasons [the nutrients] come down to us. So this is no longer a local phenomenon but a regional one,” Ho said.

Within the last fortnight brown algae been spotted across the territory – off Lamma Island, Cheung Chau, Lantau and within Victoria Harbour.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department staff said they had spotted red tides at fish culture zones within Tolo Harbour, Sha Tau Kok and Tai Mei Tuk, while a member of the public reported another at Pak Sha Wan in Sai Kung.

Most algae absorb nutrients such as phosphates or nitrates that are commonly found in cities’ wastewater. At the right temperature, well-fed algae will proliferate in a short period of time.

Ho said Hong Kong was sandwiched by the Pearl River in the west and Mirs Bay in the east and these were the two key origins of red tides in local waters.

As a result, Tuen Mun, Lantau, Tolo Harbour and Sai Kung were becoming increasingly prone to the phenomenon.

Recent reports of large amounts of seaweed being washed onto beaches in South Lantau should not be confused with red tides. Red tides are composed of free-floating (planktonic) algae, seaweed however are larger marine plants normally growing attached to the seabed, reefs or rocks.

A spokeswoman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said it would announce today whether tests had found the algae off Lamma Island to be toxic.

Four red tides were also spotted in Hong Kong waters last week.
Three red tides at fish culture zones within Tolo Harbour, Sha Tau Kok fish culture zone and Tai Mei Tuk were observed by staff members of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) during April 8 to 10. Another red tide was spotted on April 9 by a member of the public at Pak Sha Wan, Sai Kung.

None of the red tides were associated with the death of fish in these occurrences. “The red tides at fish culture zones within Tolo Harbour and Tai Mei Tuk were formed by Gonyaulax polygramma, Prorocentrum minimum and Heterosigma akashiwo. The one at Pak Sha Wan, Sai Kung, was formed by Gonyaulax polygramma whereas the one at Sha Tau Kok fish culture zone was formed by Heterosigma akashiwo and Prorocentrum minimum. All the above algal blooms are commonly found in Hong Kong waters. Gonyaulax polygramma and Heterosigma akashiwo are non-toxic. Studies have shown that Prorocentrum minimum may produce toxin, but no such reports or associated fish kills have been recorded in Hong Kong,” a spokesman for the working group said.

Red tides are a natural phenomenon. The AFCD’s phytoplankton monitoring programme will continue monitoring red tide occurrences to minimise the impact on the mariculture industry and the public.

In 1998, a red tide killed 80 per cent of the stock at Hong Kong fish farms.